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William Saito: How Important are Startup Businesses

William Saito is one of the most influential tech entrepreneurs in Japan today. He was born and raised in California but decided to move back to Japan in 2004. He was known for several companies, including the I/O Software which he later sold to Microsoft. The software enables the user to put up Japanese characters on software programs that are written and coded in English. It makes communication between the Japanese and the Americans easier, making them cooperate with largest computer-related projects. The I/O Software company that was founded by William Saito also partnered with Sony to create a fingerprint recognition system, and an authentication technology that was later used by Microsoft for its future operating systems. William Saito is such a computer genius that by the age of 14, he has been managing his own software company.

When he moved to Japan in 2004, he realized that the country needs to inspire its youth to become the next icons of the technological revolution. He wanted the Japanese youth to spend more time in coding and programming because he wanted to witness a home-grown Facebook and Google variety that can also spread globally. Because of his desire to see the Japanese youth succeed, William Saito founded the Creative Lounge Mov, a facility dedicated to motivating the younger Japanese people to spend their time in doing works related to computer. Many of his clients are paying for the seats inside the lounge, and they are working hard to create something that would change the world someday. William Saito proudly says that the Japanese youth are enthusiastic in creating their own startup business, and just like him; many are beginning to understand the concept of entrepreneurship at a young age.

In Japan, people tend to focus more on engineering marvels and financial businesses. Only a handful of the Japanese youth wanted to take a career that would bring them to the computer industry. This thinking is what William Saito wanted to change because he wanted the Japanese to diversify their skills and knowledge, and not just only work on engineering and architecture. He stated that a startup business, especially those who specialize in computers, is equally important because the world today is quickly becoming technologically reliant. Motivating the Japanese youth to continue doing what they love is the only thing that he can do to create more business-minded people in the Japanese culture.

Aside from creating dozens of startup businesses in Japan, William Saito is also hosting several conferences and seminars about the importance of a startup business culture in Japan. He is optimistic that one day, the Japanese public would fully embrace the idea and that they will be ready to set up their startups.